Some interesting things happened in ethics class today. We were talking about moral relativism, which is the view which contends there is no universal code of morality that is good for all people. Rather, it holds that each society's moral codes are determined by the individual society. The professor asked the class if anyone agreed that this was a good philosophy, and several people raised their hands. Then the professor asked if anyone was in strong disagreement with this system, and I, along with some others, raised my hand. I pointed out that it is essentially a fallacious argument, and used an example of slavery in the U.S. I submitted that just because slavery was at one time morally permissible in some parts of the U.S., that does not necessarily make it right. In the end, two black women on opposite ends of the room started arguing with each other, and they dominated the conversation for about 15 minutes.

We got an interesting assignment for Tuesday. The class split into 3 groups, and Tuesday there will be an in-class debate. One team will have to argue in favor of a moral issue, one team will have to refute those arguments, then the two teams switch sides. The third team will act as judges. My team will have to argue in favor of the issue in the first round. The issue that we will argue in favor of is female clitoridectomy. Yep, you read that right. The real kicker is that my team elected me captain. So, I split the team into offense and defense. The offense will argue in favor, and the defense will counter the other team's arguments. Further, some team members will prepare the opening and closing remarks. So, all of this should be a lot of fun. The outcome of the debate will not have an effect on our grades, other than getting participation points. That is why I made sure everyone has a role.

One drawback to getting up before dawn is that I am now completely out of gas. After I finish my Flying Dog Winter Ale, I am going to bed. A night without watching O'Reilly Factor is like a day without sunshine, but oh well.

I hope everyone is doing well. Peace...